==History of Iyalawo / Iyanifa in Ifa==

Women have initiated into Ifa since before written history. The first known Iyanifa noted in history is Agbaye Arabinrin Oluwa, who lived about 200 AD in West Africa, Nigeria.<ref>Iyanfia: Women of Wisdom, page 362</ref>

The first woman noted to be initiated in the Ifa Literary Corpus was Orunmila's ( the prophet of Ifa)initiating his daughter in the Ifa Verse Eji Ogbe.<ref>Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere, page 116</ref>. The verse is noted as follows: "The secret one of Jegbe' house Is Agbagiwo the chief priest of divination In the heavenly abode" Ifa said look at Orunmila on the day he was coming from Heaven to Earth. They told him he would marry a woman. They said the woman would deliver children. Two in a day. Just like Ifa predicted, Orunmila had a wife and she became pregnant. She delivered twins. One was male while the other one was female. From a tender age they both watched their father in the act of divination. Just as the male could divine, so could the female. When human beings got to the earth, They said, "You, Awonlaseri." Why doesnt your child practice Ifa? He said, because she is female. They said that is not taboo. So long as Orunmila' first born child who is female initiated into Ifa and offered ebo, from then on Women have initiated in Ifa<ref>Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere, page 116</ref>

The first woman in the west initiated into Ifa is noted in the Nigerian Newspaper, The Guardian where it reported that Dr. D'Haifa Odufora Ifatogun was initiated in 1985 by the chief priest of Osogbo, Ifayemi Elebuibon. <ref>Iyanifa: Women of Wisdom, Chapter Historical Notes, pg 352</ref> <ref>http://eleda.org/blog/2002/10/27/the-guardian-conscience-nurtured-by-truth/</ref> Her initation caused a controversy because until then, only men had initated to Ifa in the West. The tradition was maintained in Cuba through the slave trade by a few Babalawos and when migrating to the United States, the assumption that women could not initiate continued. It was only when contact was made with the original tradition in Africa that it became known that women could initiate into Ifa as well. The position of Iyalawo is now found in both [[West Africa]] and in the [[Americas]].